Sunday, January 17, 2016

I'm sitting on the reclining chair on the 'shipwreck'. Toward the center
of the photo, is the new castle I built, but used the D-Lab tree tops for the domes.
The sheep on the roof, of course, is a chair to sit on!

Is there no end to my shopping at the toy store! A few days ago, I made a film about the new train set at Maze Gardens. Click HERE to watch my film, though after only a day or two, the set up has changed quite a bit. Just about everything in the D-Lab and Lizail shops seems to fit my needs for this public space. They are fun, colorful, interactive, and very high quality. The shipwreck, a tree stump next to a duck, and the sheep are all 'chairs'... click to sit for a variety of positions. No doubt I will continue to make adjustments to this train terrace over time. One of the pleasures of the D-Lab + LIZAIL line, is that the scripts allow random behavior, so you never know where the little piccoli people are headed to next. Also notice that the wheels on the train cars do turn as they travel along the tracks. At the station, the trains stop for a few seconds. I love the attention to details like these.

Confession: When I saw the trains in the shop, I couldn't wait to set it up. I found a video later that describes the proper way to connect the tracks. It's so simple. I wish I'd watched that first. I aligned the tracks by eye, so the joints are not perfect, but you know what... that doesn't matter. The scripting is so good, that my imperfect joints don't prevent the train from functioning. It still runs smoothly. I had spent some time aligning the tracks by eye, when the process could have taken only 15 minutes, had I followed the instructions. Watch HERE for an impressive display of the proper way to align the tracks for the Railroad Poppo.

A visitor to the train terrace at Maze Gardens
came by to discuss programs for shy trees with a couple of concerned sheep.

Photograph courtesy of Art Oluja

The miniature architectural elements I added on the terrace today are variations of the surrounding Topiary Fortress which holds up much of Maze Gardens. In this way, the toy-like additions still fit within the context of the style of the ACC Alpha sim.

Showing at the gallery 'Berg by Nordan Art' from Jan 3, to March 31, 2016 is my exhibit called Fading Mask. It is on the ground level of the sim. I have found a few references listed below, of people who have written or filmed about the exhibit.

Distant view of the exhibit. Please watch films below to see details.

At the Berg gallery, there are always two exhibits being shown at the same time. My installation is on the ground level over the ocean, while up in the sky are photographs by Mich Michabo. Tutsy Navarathna made a film about the opening reception which shows both exhibits.